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The SportsMonday Column
FRESHMAN INITIATION
The Daily chats with some of Michigan's newest team
additions to find out how they're adjusting to college life.
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September 20, 2004
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Luncheon
reunites
Cagens
By Eric Ambinder
Daily Sports Writer
Even Cazzie Russell, chatting alongside the
grassy embankment of his 'house,' waited for
Glen Rice to arrive.
In an effort to link the past with the pres-
ent, the Michigan athletic department hosted
current and former Michigan basketball play-
ers before the football game on Saturday at a
tailgate in the parking lot of Crisler Arena, or
"the House that Cazzie Built."
"I'm waiting (to meet) Glen Rice," said
Michigan's newest member, freshman Ron
Coleman.
Coleman's teammate, Courtney Sims, want-
ed to meet Jalen Rose, a player he watched as
a young man.
Even Terry Mills, a member of the 1989
National Championship team, anticipated the
conversations with former teammates and
Michigan legends, that he said are not as com-
mon as they should be.
"I'm (looking for) some of the players that
I actually admired when I was (growing) up,
like Phil Hubbard, Butch Wade and some of
those types of guys," Mills said "And of course
I want to see some of the guys from the (1989)
championship team."
Rice, a teammate of Mills and a member of
the championship team, will have his No. 41
jersey retired during halftime of the Feb. 20
basketball game against Indiana, and those at
the event kept waiting - dangerously close to
kickoff - to congratulate him.
Russell and Phil Hubbard, two former play-
ers who had their jerseys retired, spent the
morning reminiscing with old teammates and
current Michigan players.
"It's vitally important to have your past
linked with your present and also promote
that for the future," Michigan basketball coach
Tommy Amaker said. "This is what our pro-
gamis abc t .
Junior Daniel Horton, Michigan's starting
point guard, took full advantage of the event.
"It means a lot to us as current players
to show that (the former players) still care,
that they still love this University," Horton
said. "I want to talk to all of them, all those
guys were great players. It's definitely good
to see that (Rice's jersey) will be retired.
They should have done that along time ago.
He was a great player and did great things
here."
Rice averaged 25.6 points-per-game during
his senior year in which he led Michigan to the
1989 National Championship.
"I was wondering when they were going to
retire (Rice's) number because he was one the
best players to ever play at Michigan," Sims
said.
Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin
said that Rice's ceremony is part of an effort
to honor Michigan basketball greats from each
decade
It's unclear who may be honored for their
contributions during the current decade, but
members of this year's team expect to restore
the same greatness that Rice brought to Michi-
gan basketball.
"We're expecting to be No. 1 in the Big Ten,
to win the Big Ten conference and win the Big
Ten Tournament and then go to the (NCAA
Tournament) and make it deep there and win
it" Sims said. "We have as much as talent as
anybody in college basketball."
"I think the sky is the limit for this team,"
Horton said. "If we work hard and share the
basketball and play defense like we've always
* done, we'll be fine. There's no limit to what we
can achieve."
The man who led Michigan to its only
National Championship never did show up
at the event. Michigan officials said Rice was
stuck in traffic on Main Street. But the con-
fidence and aura of the 1989 team seemed to
arrive.
MICHIGAN 24, State
Hart Attack
Offense
still needs
togro W
W ith a little more than 2:30 remain-
ing in Saturday's game, San Diego
State head coach Tom Craft had
a decision to make. The Aztecs had the ball
at their own 46-yard line facing a fourth-
and-10 and a three-point deficit, and Craft
could have either (a) gone for the first down
to keep their drive alive, or (b) punt the ball
away, counting on the Michigan offense to
go three-and-out.
The Aztecs
chose option B.
And if it wasn't
for an 11-yard
run by running
back Mike Hart
on third down,
Craft's plan would BOB
have worked. HUNT
San Diego State
would have had Unleashed
the ball at mid-
field with a chance to win or tie the game.
Although the San Diego State defense
was one of the top-10 defenses in the
nation statistically last season, Craft's
choice signifies how much respect oppos-
ing coache Piave in the Michigan offense
through three games - little to none.
The situation may seem bleak for a team
that went into the season with such high
expectatos. But the problem is not that
the offense is not talented enough, or that
the coaching staff is not putting the team in
the right position to move down the field.
The problem is that the offense is
just going to take time to develop.
If it wasn't for Mike Hart's breakout per-
formance yesterday (which was very nice to
see) and Braylon Edwards's big-play ability,
the Michigan offense would have come into
the Big Ten season next week with little for
opposing defenses to fear. Although Michi-
gan has one of the more heralded receiving
corps in college football, its extended drives
this season can be counted on one hand.
On Saturday, the Wolverines basically had
three offensive weapons: (1) The deep fade
down the sideline to Edwards, (2) the Hart
run up the middle or (3) the turnover.
All 24 of Michigan's points on Saturday
See HUNT, Page 5B
JASON COOPER/Daily
Freshman running back Mike Hart blasts through two San Diego State defenders en route to a career-high 121-yard performance.
Blue finds ground game in narrow win
By Sharad Mattu
Daily Sports Editor
With its conference schedule set to begin,
Michigan knows it will need to improve. Against
three-touchdown underdogs San Diego State,
the Wolverines completed just half of their pass-
es, turned the ball over four times, missed a pair
of field goals and struggled initially to defend
the Aztecs' passing offense.
But No. 18 Michigan (2-1) may have redis-
covered its running game and, for that, is happy
with its 24-21 win.
Held to just 171 rushing yards in its first two
games, the Wolverines ran for 148 yards on Sat-
urday. It pales in comparison to the 176 rushing
yards they averaged last year, but still is a sig-
nificant improvement.
"It's embarrassing when you don't run the
ball like Michigan is supposed to," offensive
lineman David Baas said. "We just got it in our
heads - the running backs, the offensive line,
everybody - that we need to run the ball."
True freshman Mike Hart ran for 121 of those
yards, and may have claimed the starting role in
the process.
Of Hart's 25 carries, his final one was the most
important. On third-and-nine from Michigan's
11-yard line with less than two minutes left in
the game, Hart ran to his right for 11 yards. Had
he not run for the first down, the Aztecs would
have had good field position and one last chance
to tie or win the game.
"I just knew we needed it," Hart said. "The
team knew we needed it. I knew I was going to
get the ball and had to do something about it.
"The hole was right there. The line did a great
job opening it up and (fullback Kevin) Dudley
picked up the safety."
Though Hart wouldn't allow it, Michigan was
content to put the game in the defense's hands,
as Michigan coach Lloyd Carr called a run on
third down. The defense's play in the second
half was some of the best so far this season.
After giving up 28 points in the second half in
last week's loss to Notre Dame and 21 in the first
half Saturday, the Wolverines rose to the chal-
lenge, forcing San Diego State into three punts
and two missed field goals.
The Aztecs' best chance to put up points in the
second half came midway through the fourth quar-
ter. On third-and-five from Michigan's 25-yard
line, defensive end Pat Massey caught San Diego
State quarterback Matt Dlugolecki and pulled him
to the ground for a six-yard loss. On the next play,
the Aztecs missed a 49-yard field goal.
Even though Michigan allowed three touch-
downs in the first half, coach Lloyd Carr was
happy with the defense's play in the entire game.
Two of the Aztecs' scoring drives came off of
Michigan turnovers, and on the third they relied
on a pair of trick plays, a 61-yard shovel pass and
a 12-yard halfback pass.
See AZTECS, Page 5B
Soccer off to best start in team history
By Anne Uible
Daily Sports Writer
After scoring his first of two goals
on Friday night, sophomore Bobby Try-
bula ran to the sidelines and triumphantly
pointed to his friend Zach Abbott. Abbott
was sitting in the bleachers and met Try-
bula on the field with a hug.
"He's one of my buddies I used to play
ner kick from the right side of the field.
Junior Chris Glinski got to the ball and
headed it across the net to sophomore
Kevin Savitskie. Unable to get complete
control of the ball, Savitskie strategi-
cally passed it onto Trybula, who found
the right side of the goal with a header to
make the score 1-0.
"The ball kind of bounced around and
came to where I was supposed to be,"
-r4 1,.;
number of opportunities that his team
had, but felt that his players should have
put more balls in the net. Specifically,
Burns pointed to Michigan's central mid-
fielders' inability to pick up second-ball
opportunities off Bowling Green's mid-
fielders in the first half of the game.
"That is a difference-maker in a game
because that means (we) are picking up
more possession of those second balls
shot on Bowling Green's net marked his
first goal wearing a Michigan jersey.
Although the Falcons entered the game
with a 0-6 record, including four games
in which they didn't score, Burns was
quick to renounce the game as a blowoff
match.
"There are no easy games on our
schedule until we make them easy,"
Burns said.
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